Living well --> Laziness/Boredom --> Watching TV/Plugging in --> [View All]

[Guaranteed]

Apathy/Powerlessness/Brainwashing--> Fascism.

Is America suffering from Spoiled Brat Syndrome? Before I had reserved this term for devout atheists who based their beliefs (or lack thereof) on how "horrible" the world is. But it seems to me that the syndrome has spread- not only have people lost their belief in a higher, benevolent power, but it seems as if they don't even believe in America anymore (while, oddly enough, these seem to be two entirely different groups of people). They're out of touch with what previously made America the greatest country on Earth, even though, supposedly, our level of education is the best it's ever been. They don't care about the foundations of democracy, what the fathers of our country thought to be essential to its long life- a free media, equality among men, a strong middle class, open-mindedness, and religious freedom, among many other principles.

What happened? Two ideas come to my mind, here, the first being one discussed quite often here on DU- the fact that us liberals fought so hard for a decent living standard for all Americans, and now we're betrayed by those very same people we fought for- but there is also this, something I found coming out of my mouth when I was only teenager:

"Society changes, but humanity doesn't."

We've seen the epogee of America, just as the world saw it 2000 years ago when the Roman Empire stretched across the known Earth. They were spoiled, and lost their values. They forgot what made them great- if there truly was anything that made them "great" in the first place (but at least they believed it)- and, no, they were never conquered. They simply fell apart from the inside, for there was nothing holding them together anymore. There was no common bond. There was nothing to fight for.

But, make no mistake- the decay of America will not take centuries. The world evolves in a much accelerated manner nowadays, what with our superb communications systems. This will not be drawn out.

I'm really, really sad- because I really did believe.